"He's a competitor. We had one-on-one battles, and he and Casey (Cizikas) were together. You could see them really battling for the puck."

Lee scored 38 points in his junior year as captain of the Fighting Irish. He had 116 points in 125 college games before leaving for Long Island.

"It's all part of development, trying to get ready for the next level," Lee said. "(Junior) year definitely was going to benefit me. I'm closer to a degree. Leaving as a junior, it's something that'll be easy to get. If I left before that, it would've been nearly impossible."

He actually went back to South Bend after those two NHL games to finish up that junior year.

"To have that opportunity to come and play in an NHL game, then go back to school and finish classes, it's a good finish to the season," Pellerin said. "It looks like a good step. He'll continue that progress and development, for sure."

He'd fit right in on Bridgeport's roster as it would likely stand. All the Sound Tigers' veteran players became unrestricted free agents Friday. Of players who return to the organization and finished in Bridgeport, third-year pro Aaron Ness is the most experienced at 170 games.